This Final Goodbye
by Innocent heart2
Summary: What would happen is Ash just up and quit his journey? What would have caused it? Pokeshipping.
1. Part 1

Mizu: I don't own Pokemon. There. The disclaimer is done so onto the fic.

This Final Goodbye….

Ash sat on a small hill in Sinnoh, staring up at the night sky. It had been nearly eleven years since he had left Pallet Town in Kanto to achieve his dream of pokemon master. He had met so many great friends, even greater pokemon, and the weirdest rivals. Sighing, he look over his shoulder to his camp. There were his current traveling friends. Brock Slate and Dawn…something. Never could remember her last name. Ash could feel a sudden weight upon his chest. Most nights, he sat by the fire with them telling stories and laughing, just as they were right then. But tonight was different.

Slowly, Ash made his way back to the camp. Pikachu looked up at him from beside Brock and it's face paled. It knew something was about to happen.

"Hey Ash!" Brock exclaimed happily, "Where ya been?"

"Just looking at the sky," Ash sighed sitting down.

Instantly, Brock was tuned into Ash's face. The only time Ash ever took time to look at the sky was when something was terribly wrong.

"Well, why were you doing that?" Dawn asked, still oblivious.

"I needed to…think…about something," Ash said, sorrowfully.

"About what?" Brock and Dawn asked.

"About this journey of mine," Ash stated, looking away.

Finally, everyone at camp was silent. Even the pokemon.

"What I'm about to do…trust me, I've really had to think about it," Ash sighed.

"About what?" Brock asked again.

Ash was silent for a moment and then said, "I think it's time that my journey came to an end."

"WHAT?" both of his friends snapped.

"Listen, I'm one of the strongest trainers in the world. I've been given so many offers for jobs because of it. I've always turn them down because I wanted to get stronger. But there comes a time that you reach a limit. I've reached mine so many times but over came them," Ash started to explain.

"Then why can't you do it again?" Brock snapped at the young man.

"That's just it. It's something that I can't overcome. That's why I left on my journey so long ago. I thought that if I did, then I could really become the best in the world. That I could be myself for the rest of my life," Ash paused and started to walk to the hill, "but that was my foolish mistake. After all of these years, I've realized that I picked the wrong path."

Ash looked back at his friends, his eyes starting to fill with tears as he looked at them in hopes that they'd understand.

"I don't regret my journey. I really don't. It just turned out not to be the way to go for me….I really loved meeting all of my pokemon and all of my friends. For those reasons, I don't want to stop. It hurts me so much."

"Then don't stop! Keep doing what you love!" Dawn cried.

"I can't. This is something that I can't deny. I'll travel with you guys to the next town and that's where we'll part. You to the next town and contest and me back to Pallet town. Maybe with luck I can still take Scott up on his offer," Ash said, turning his back to his friends.

"Ash!" Dawn snapped.

He didn't turn around. Dawn was about to smack him when she saw Brock stand up. Slowly, the oldest of the three made his way to Ash. Brock placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Is this really what you think is best? Are you going to release all of your pokemon or just keep them to train for something that will never come?" Brock questioned.

"T-Train them…" Ash stuttered, trying his hardest not to cry.

"…Good…" Brock smiled.

Pikachu jumped onto his trainer's shoulder and rubbed its cheek against his. At that time both trainer and pokemon broke down to cry silently together. Dawn and her pokemon just stared at Ash. He looked so fragile but yet he was still trying to stand tall. Slowly, her own tears started to trickle down her face. It wasn't long before everything in camp was crying.

"I guess this is goodbye, guys," Ash sighed, looking at the clock, "My boat leaves in 20 minutes and I probably should be one it unless I want to swim back"

The other two just gave a shrug. Brock couldn't believe that it was Ash leaving this time. After everything he had done, Ash was the one quitting. It just didn't feel right to him.

Dawn was avoiding eye contact with Ash. She would have broken down into tears and begged him not to go if she did. Besides that, she'd confessed that she had a small crush on him. Not that that would stop him. Dawn knew that he was set on this decision and that he felt nothing like that towards her. But it still hurt.

"Come on guys. At least smile at my jokes. I don't want this last memory to be sad," Ash stated.

"Last memory?" Brock questioned, "Are you implying that if we let you quit, we won't ever see each other again?"

"Um…er…I don't know, Brocko. I honestly don't know," Ash sighed, "But I give you my word that I'll do everything in my power to make sure that that _**DOESN'T **_happen."

Ash gave them his famous grin. It made them feel a little better.

"Man, you two are really a bunch of Krabbies today. Maybe I need to stay and push those sad thoughts away," Ash joked a bit, looking back to the clock, "Well, I'd best be off."

"Right…" The other to stated.

"Oh, before I go, I did manage to get you each something," Ash smirked.

The other two looked at each other in confusion then back to Ash. He pulled two big boxes out of nowhere.

"Now, you two can't open these till you can't see my boat anymore, ok?" Ash said before heading to the loading ramp, "Catch ya later!"

With that, Ash ran up the ramp and out of sight. Brock and Dawn looked at the boxes and decided to sit down on a bench. In silence, they waited an hour before they could no longer see Ash's boat. By that time, both had started to cry at the lost of their closest friend.

"So…should we open them?" Dawn asked, staring at her present.

"Y-yeah," Brock stuttered, "You first though, Dawn."

Dawn nodded and slowly started to open her present. What she found was stunning. Over 300 seals for contests, new hair pieces, several cute outfits for her pokemon, and at the bottom of her box, there was a small booklet. Inside it Dawn discovered that Ash had written some ideas for combinations for her next contests. He even rated them from easiest to hardest. Dawn broke down into tears of sorrow, surprise, and joy. He was still going to look after her training even from afar.

Brock, after calming Dawn down from her present, slowly began to open his. Inside was several new cooking books with recipes circle, stuff that Ash knew that Brock would love; there was also a tuxedo for himself and a note saying that he just needed to be persistent and that he'd eventually get a girl. Along with that, there was a new cologne that Brock had wanted for his birthday from several years past. Brock was stunned that Ash remembered about it. At the very bottom of his box, there was a little booklet. Inside of it was a listing of all the Joys, Jennys, some famous women, and a few poems that Ash thought would help Brock out. Unlike Dawn, Brock just started laughing, but he still started to cry.

"That little twerp…I thought that he just ignored my gaga attacks all of these years…" Brock laughed, crying at the same time, "Next time I see him, I swear that I'm going to punch him."

Brock packed his presents carefully away and then helped Dawn with hers. Then, he pulled out his map and smiled.

"Come on. We've got to get you to the next town so you can use those new techniques Ash gave you," Brock smiled.

Dawn nodded and the two were off. But before they got off, they turned back to the port. It felt weird…It felt as if Ash had lied to them. That, maybe…just maybe, they really wouldn't ever see him again…


	2. Part 2

Mizu: I don't own Pokemon. There. The disclaimer is done so onto the fic.

This Final Goodbye….

*8 months later*

"And the winner of the Snowpoint Contest is Dawn!" the announcer shouted to the excited audience.

Dawn stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks. Brock was standing in the front row clapping up a storm along with his Happiny. Dawn knelt by her Piplup and Cyndaquil and pulled both into a tight hug.

"A-are you ok?" the announcer asked, walking up to her.

"Y-yeah, I'm just really happy that I won!" Dawn smiled.

Brock smiled. That wasn't the real reason. The real reason was cause Dawn had been training so hard to perfect some of Ash's techniques that he left her and it finally paid off.

Dawn ran up to Brock as soon as she was freed from the crowd of her fans and they were off to the pokemon center. Today was a special day. They were expecting some of their friends to come visit them. No sooner did they walk into the Pokemon Center did they spot them.

"May!" Dawn squealed, running up to the coordinator.

"Dawn!" May squealed back.

"Ouch, my ears," a little taller Max complained, plugging his eyes.

"Haha, you'll get used to it Max." A smiling Tracy stated, "Hey Brock!"

"Hey, how you guys been?"

"Great!" the two answered, "but…"

"But?" Brock questioned.

"Where's Ash?" Tracy asked, "I needed to give him his belated birthday gift from Misty."

"He…He hasn't been in Pallet Town?" Brock cautiously asked.

Dawn stared at the boys in surprise. What was going on?

"No, why would he be there?" Tracy chuckled.

"…" Brock gaped, "L-let's go sit down."

Quickly, everyone made their way to one of the lounging areas of the Center. Brock sat at the edge and cradled his head in his hands. Dawn bit her lip to try to stop from asking any kind of question.

"What's wrong, Brock?" May asked.

"That little Shinx…he lied to us…" Brock muttered.

"What did he lie about?" Max asked, confused.

Brock sighed and looked at his friends, "Ash ended his journey 8 months ago and said that he was going back to Pallet town to relax for a bit before trying to find a job."

"WHAT?" the three screamed, "ARE YOU SERIOUS!"

"Dead serious. And from what you said, it sounds like he hasn't been home…dang it all! What the Heatran are you doing Ash?" Brock shouted.

As the news of this sunk into their minds, the room became uneasily quiet. Everyone who walked into the center was suddenly struck silent from the tension.

"So…have you told Misty this yet?" Tracy questioned.

"no…I thought that Ash would've…" Brock sighed.

"Well, somebody should call her and tell her. Brock?" May stated.

"Don't look at me! I'm not going to tell her about this! No thank you! I'd like to live!" Brock snapped.

"Tracy?" May looked at him hopefully.

"Not gonna happen! She'd kill me!" Tracy yelled.

"Max?" May asked.

"I love you May, but I'm not going to do it!" Max exclaimed, backing away.

"D-Dawn?" May stuttered.

"Well…since I don't know her I guess I can do it," Dawn said.

"Thank you!" May cried out, pulling Dawn to the phone.

May quickly punched in Misty's number and ran behind one of the chairs.

"Hello?" a semi-gentle voice questioned.

"Um…hello. This is Dawn, one of Ash's friends. Is Misty there?" Dawn asked.

The picture of a plain girl with fiery red hair and aquatic eyes appeared on the screen.

"This is her. Where's Ash? How come he's not the one calling? Did something happen to him!" she questioned.

"S-something along that manner," Dawn stammered.

"What happened? Did he break a bone? Get food poisoning? Land himself in the hospital? Is he dieing?" Misty cried, getting more and more worried the second.

"N-nothing th-that bad…" Dawn stated.

"Then what?" Misty snapped.

"H-he ended his journey over 8 months ago and no one has heard from him since," Dawn told the young woman.

Everything was silent for a second. It was just like the calm before the storm…

"WHAT?" Misty shouted so loud that it shook the entire Pokemon Center.

Dawn screamed and ran towards Brock.

"BROCK! GET YOUR BUTT ON THIS PHONE!" Misty ordered.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Brock whimpered.

Brock quickly ran to the phone and faced Misty at her worst. When she was totally angered.

"Why didn't you tell me that he was thinking about ending his journey! I could have talked him out of it! But no! You probably thought that Ash had already told me about it! Yeah, right! Even Ash wouldn't be that dumb as to tell me that he was going to quit! Now I want details and you better give them to me! And all of you behind the chairs, you better get up hear too!" Misty ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" everyone shouted back, terrified.

Brock slowly and carefully retold Misty everything Ash had said and done before he left. He even went in detail how the gifts Ash gave them had helped them tremendously. All of the friends were silent as Brock retold the story. None of them could understand what Ash had meant. All but one.

"He fell in love, you idiots," Misty sighed, a hurt tone in her voice.

"Huh?" every gaped.

" '_That's why I left on my journey so long ago. I thought that if I did, then I could really become the best in the world. That I could be myself for the rest of my life.' _That's how he said it, right?" Misty asked.

"Yeah…exactly," Brock stated.

"Ash meant that he wanted to try to keep traveling in hopes that he'd never fall in love. Most likely due to the fact that he never knew much of his father and was probably scared that he wouldn't be able to have a family. So he traveled endlessly, trying to avoid any kind of contact with the other gender except for a few," Misty stated, sighing heavily, "But somehow, someone snuck their way into his heart…"

"Wow…I never took as the shy guy," Tracy stated.

"He always was when it came to "other" girls. Me, May, and Dawn were the only ones that were the exception. When May and I started traveling with him, he most likely felt like he owed us. Ash most likely would've paid us back quicker if we hadn't done one thing for him," Misty said.

"And that was?" May asked.

"We gave him someone to talk to," Misty stated, tears filling her eyes.

She turned her back to the screen and stared up to the ceiling.

"You guys don't know Ash like you think you do. The poor guy has gone through more than any of us could imagine," Misty sighed, "I was the only person that he could ever talk to about his past. That's the one thing I wish I could change. To never have left him so that he wouldn't have to face this world alone…"

"Misty? What are you talking about? What did we do for Ash? I'm confused…" May questioned.

"Just what I said. We gave him someone to talk to. We gave him company. We gave him…his first friends," Misty explained, keeping her back to them.

"What?" Max asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Ash never had any friends before us. Why else do you think that he acted like a child even as he got older? He was still relishing the idea of having his first friends with him. That's also why whenever he was in a battle he was always trying to prove himself. He was trying to prove himself to us. To show that he could be a good friend," Misty said.

Misty got up for a second, leaving her friends to ponder what she had just told them. When she returned, she had a blue book with her.

"When I first met Ash, I'll admit that I thought that he was the worst kind of boy. Annoying. I thought that was just how he was and that nothing I could do could ever change him. Then one night, something changed that idea. And I wrote it down so that I'd never forget," Misty stated, showing them the blue book.

(FLASHBACK)

Misty had just gotten back from taking her bath at the nearby lake. She felt so happy after it and that she didn't hear the annoying voice of a certain boy. He normally waited until she came back before he settled down, which kept Brock up later than he should have been up. But for some reason this night was different. Misty found it almost strange that it was so quiet. That annoying boy was a notoriously loud snorer, so even if he had fallen asleep she should've still heard him.

As she approached the camp, she spotted the boy curled up into a ball. Misty could see him tremble and shudder for some reason but he made no noise. Quickly, she made her way to were he was. That in itself confused herself. Why was she so suddenly worried about this boy? Really weird night.

Misty looked over the boy's shoulder to see what looked to be blood on the ground in front of him. Instantly she began to freak out.

"Ash! What happened!" She shouted softly, for some reason not wanting to wake the other male at camp.

Ash jumped at upon hearing his name, and he quickly turned his head to try and see Misty. He wore a terrified looked upon his face. Misty quickly knelt by him and tried to see what was bleeding. But he kept pulling away from her. After five minutes of silently pleading with him to let her see, Misty was fed up. She grabbed her mallet and let him make the choice. Reluctantly he offered up his arm to show her his injury.

The genius had gotten up to start pacing while waiting for her and slipped onto some sharp rocks. Misty had to admit, though, that when normally he'd be freaking out, Ash had remained very calm. Most likely from the shock of it all.

Misty gently grabbed his arm, much to his protesting.

"Shush, you baby!" She hushed, "I've got to clean the cuts so they won't become infected. You didn't hurt yourself too badly but they still need to be wrapped up and cleaned every night till we get to a Pokemon Center. Then we'll have Nurse Joy check to make sure that everything is completely ok, alright?"

He just nodded.

Misty grabbed a few cotton balls and dabbed their supply of cleaning alcohol on one. Then, Misty pulled Ash's arm closer, still much to his protesting. Slowly, she touch the wet cotton ball to his wound. She could hear him hiss and almost hear him about to cry. Misty looked up and saw him biting down on him lip.

"Don't do that! You'll hurt you lip that way," Misty scolded, "I swear, you're just like a little kid. Here, if you really need to bite something, bite this cloth."

Ash quickly put it into his mouth, and Misty continued cleaning his wound. She'd only hear him whimper from time to time. Misty had to admit that she was impressed. The Ash she knew would have been complaining the whole time. The Ash she knew would have broken down. The Ash she knew, wasn't this mature.

It took about an hour to fully clean his arm and wrap it tight. During this time, Ash never said one word. He'd hiss at the stinging sensation from the cleaning alcohol but nothing more. Misty was starting to put up the first aid kit when he finally broke his silence.

"Th-Thank you," Ash stated, sitting down in the grass, his back to her.

"You don't have to thank me. I was just doing that so that you're injury wouldn't get infected," Misty sighed, "But you really need to be more careful. Brock and I aren't going to be around forever, so you need to learn how to do all of this by yourself."

Ash sat silent for a few moments and then said, "s-so you guys are going to leave soon…"

"What? No. That's not what I meant," Misty almost snapped, "What brought that up?"

"Th-that's what everyone's done before…" Ash stated.

That comment and how he said it grabbed Misty's attention. She quickly put the stuff away and crawled over to Ash. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she sat next to him.

"What does that mean?" Misty asked gently.

"Everyone who has ever been around me leaves…" Ash sighed, "Even my father."

Misty just stared at him. Was this really Ash? When had he started to grow up?

"You see, when I was little, I was always sick. So sick that I could never go outside. Because of that, I never could make friends very well. My mom would go around to parents and see if they would mind letting their kids play over at our house. She'd get about three or four kids to come over and then go spend some time with my dad. She was always hoping that I'd make some friends. But those kids…They never played with me. They wanted nothing to do with me. All they did was call me names and take my toys. Then they'd go outside and play with each other. My mom would come home and they'd tell her that we were playing hide and go seek. So she'd send them home and find me in my bedroom crying. I couldn't understand how come I was so different than they were. It didn't make any sense to me," Ash explained.

He paused and looked up at the sky, "Then, when I was about 7 or so, there came a night that finally made me realize what was wrong with me. That night, my own father abandoned me. He just left. I remember hearing my parents in the middle of the night arguing. Somehow I made it to the hallway and just stood there. It was the first time I saw my mom angry and one of the few times I ever saw my dad. Then what he said that night…It'll forever be engraved in my memory…"

"What did he say, Ash?"

"_**That…That THING could never be my son! How could you bring that THING into this world! What good can he ever be? All he'll know how to do is to beg, cry, and be a burden to everyone! He's wasted my time, my money, my love, and my blood! **_….You have no idea what it's like to know that you're father thinks that you're a waste of mass…" Ash said, trying not to cry.

"Oh my goodness, Ash…" Misty gasped.

"He was right, though," Ash said after a few minutes, "When I heard that, for the first time in my life, I ran. I ran straight to my dad and wrapped my arms around his legs. I started to cry and beg him not to go. That I could change. That I'd get better. That I'd become a tough boy like he wanted. He picked me up just like a father would to calm his child. I tried to stop crying. Then…He threw me into the wall. I remember my mom running to me and cradling me in her arms. Then my father grabbed his stuff and…he left."

Misty was staring at Ash, expecting him to start crying. But he never did. He just stared up at the sky.

"I haven't seen my father since nor do I ever want to see him again. But I did realize that what he said was right. After that, I stopped talking. I didn't want to see anyone. When the doctors came, I'd scream and refuse to see them. I was tired of tests. I was tired of pills and needles. I just wanted to be a kid. It got to the point that they had to sedate me to treat me. The doctors would leave the house with their jackets destroyed and scratches everywhere. Then my mom finally asked me what I wanted. After all that time, no one had ever asked me that. And I told her the truth. I wanted to be free. I wanted to be away from everything and one that liked to hurt me. I wanted to be a pokemon trainer.

"So I started get ready for my journey. I worked on my muscles and tried to read about all the stuff that I had missed when I was a kid. And well, you know the rest."

Ash sighed and laid back into the grass. Misty stared at him. What was he? After going through all of that, why didn't his eyes even water at the mention of it?

"Ash?" Misty slowly questioned, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. That's why I act like I do. I never got the chance be me. With you guys…it's just so weird to me…I've never had a real friend before you…"

"Well, Brock, Pikachu, and I just-"

"No. I said you. You are my first friend, Misty," Ash said, sitting up.

"What about Pikachu?" "Yeah, Pikachu was my first pokemon friend. But you're the first human friend I've ever had. The first person I can talk to. And to tell the truth, that's all I wanted from all of those kids back then."

"A-Ash…"

"I can't talk like this with Brock, Mist."

"Mist?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry…"

"No…it's alright. I actually like that nickname. So how come you can't talk about this with Brock?"

"I don't know. I just don't get the feeling that I do with you. Like a bond of friendship. I trusted you the moment I saw you."

"Really?"

"Really. I don't understand it but I feel like I can tell you anything, Mist. You're…You're already my best friend. My first human best friend."

Misty looked into his eyes and saw that he was finally starting to cry.

"You're my best friend too, Ashy-boy. You wanna know something? When I first pulled you out of that river, I didn't have very many friends in Cerulean. I was the runt of the Waterflower family and most of the other girls just used me to get to them. I was tired of it too. So I ran away and do you know what? I'm so glad that I did now." Misty pulled Ash into a comforting hug and smiled. "Cause, otherwise, I'd never get to meet such a true friend like you. And I know that we argue a lot but I think that's just cause our personalities are so similar. We clash a lot but still like each other. We're friends but we enjoying arguing…it's kinda weird."

Ash smiled, tears running down his cheeks. Slowly, he returned the hug and then broke it off.

"We should get to bed otherwise Brock's gonna kill us," Ash laughed.

"Yeah!" Misty agreed.

Misty pulled out her sleeping bag and then saw Ash walking over to her.

"What is it, Ash? Something wrong?"

"Well…Can I sleep over her by you? I've been having nightmares for a couple of nights and…"

Misty smiled softly and nodded. She laughed on the inside. So Ash could be mature while being a little kid. Such a strange boy.

(End of Flashback)


	3. Part 3

_**Mizu: Here's a brand new chapter! This story isn't dead. I'll just blame my not updating on myself trying to get passed a million different ideas for this cause I forgot my original plan. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, Ash and Misty would be together already and getting ready to settle down!**_

* * *

_This Final Goodbye… _

* * *

"I had no idea that he'd gone through anything like that," Brock muttered.

"I just thought he was immature," May sighed, "I feel bad for yelling at him for acting that way now."

"But why would that make Ash not want to have a family?" Max questioned, "If anything, this should have propelled him to making one sooner."

"No it wouldn't," Tracy sighed, "Ash has always been a person to go by impressions. The only impression he has ever seen of a father close up was his thinking that he was worthless. He doesn't know how to be a dad."

"So he's afraid that if he stays on his journey that he'll eventually confess to the girl he loves and then they might make a huge mistake," Dawn thought aloud, "and he's afraid that if he would have a kid that he'd reject it."

"Pretty much," Misty sighed sorrowfully.

"Misty…That must have killed you inside," Brock stated.

"Wha-" Misty blushed.

"You're right Brock! To know that the man that you love is afraid of intimacy and being a dad must have been horrible!" Tracy gasped.

"Wait just a-" Misty tried to interject.

"You love Ash?" Dawn squealed, "That's why you got so worried!"

"Yeah, she totally loves him," May giggled.

"And Ash loves her," Max added, eyes slowly widening.

"So that means…" everyone but Misty mumbled.

"Will you guys listen to me?" Misty plead, trying to fight her blush.

"Ash left because he fell in love with Misty!" the group exclaimed.

"Huh?" Misty blinked.

"But he's been in love with her for so long," Brock sighed, trying to make sense of everything, "Why would he quit his journey now?"

"I repeat, huh?" Misty questioned.

"Maybe he thought the distance between them was too great," May giggled again.

"No way that's it," Max sighed.

"But maybe distance was a factor," Tracy thought aloud, "Maybe he finally realized that no matter what he did, he would always love Misty."

"That's it!" Dawn shouted.

"So he left his journey so he could lock himself away so that he'd never hurt you, Mis-" Brock started to beam, stopping once he saw the red-head missing from the screen, "-ty?"

Daisy slowly sat down in front of the screen, "Misty like just stormed out. She said something like she was like totally going to Sinnoh to hunt Ash down."

"Oh…" the group shuddered.

"Like what did the poor boy do this time?" Daisy questioned.

"Left his journey cause of her," they sighed.

"Oh…" Daisy agreed, "Well, tell her I wish her like the best of luck."

* * *

"Something still doesn't make sense," Max sighed.

"What's that?" Dawn asked, bringing a tray of drinks over to her friends.

"Why did Ash lie about going home to Pallet town?" Max questioned.

"You know something, I don't know," May sighed, "He's never been the type to lie about that stuff before."

"Maybe he met up with Scott on the way home," Tracy thought aloud.

"Or Team Rocket could have given him some trouble," Brock chuckled.

"Yeah that's probably it," the group sighed.

"They won't be happy to hear that he's quitting either now that I think about it," Max stated.

"Yeah, Pikachu won't be getting any stronger," Tracy laughed.

"Maybe that's a good thing," May stated, "Team Rocket won't be bugging him as much."

"True," Brock sighed, "But it just doesn't feel right."

The group sighed in agreement. There was a sudden scream from outside and then a man with black hair sprinted into the Pokemon Center, clutching a Pikachu to his chest.

"I said I was sorry for not telling you!" the man cried, hopping easily over the counter to hide.

"Get back here, Ash Ketchum!" Misty's enraged voice snapped.

"Ash!" the group gasped, "No way!"

"Huh?" the man slowly looked over at the group and let out a manly squeak.

"Just how do you think I feel when I receive a call from these idiots saying that you quit your journey eight months ago?" Misty growled, stomping over to the counter, "Then I fly all the way over here on one of my neighbor's Staraptors to find you staking out the Pokemon Center with that stupid grin on your face."

"I said sorry," Ash whimpered, covering his hat covered head with his hands, "But if you knew the truth then you'd know why I didn't want you guys to know that I was following you!"

"I'm confused…" Dawn whimpered, "This isn't making any sense."

"It's not supposed to," Ash sighed, trying to scoot away from a glaring Misty.

"You're going to explain right now what this is all about," Misty demanded.

"…no," Allen shook his head, holding down his hat.

"No?" Misty repeated, pulling out her mallet, "Are you sure about that?"

"y-yes?" Allen stuttered before jumping to his feet and trying run out the door again.

"Oh no you don't!" Misty growled, latching onto his shirt, "You're not going to get away that easily. Not until you explain things."

"L-Let me go, Mist!" Ash whined, struggling with the redhead's grasp.

"Not until you talk!" Misty snapped, accidentally ripping Ash's shirt over his left shoulderblade, "Oops…Sorry bout that…h-huh?"

Ash was sitting on the ground, curled up in a tight ball with Pikachu trying to cover his uncovered skin. Misty gently pushed the yellow creature out of her way and gently reached out to touch his skin. She didn't know why but she was drawn to it. Like there was something fascinating about his flawless tan skin. Well, to her there already was, but this was even beyond what she normally felt.

"Don't touch me!" Ash shouted, running into the nearest corner with his exposed skin pressed against the wall, "Whatever you do, don't touch my skin Misty…"

"…huh?" Misty gaped, along with almost everyone else, "What are you talking about? There was nothing on you so why are you acting so jumpy."

Misty slowly walked over to where her crush sat cowering from her.

"I mean it Misty!" Ash nearly screamed, "Don't touch me!"

"Then," Misty stated through clenched teeth, "How's about I kick you?"

"Wha-" Ash started to ask, only to get kicked out of his corner, landing flat on his face, "Oww…"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted, trying to get it's trainer to get up before Misty touched him.

"Honestly, what's up with you two today?" Misty sighed, placing her hand on his skin, "See? Nothing bad hap-"

Suddenly Ash started screaming as if he was just branded. Misty instantly drew her hand back as Pikachu raced up to it's trainer's side. When he realized it was too late, everyone thought they saw Pikachu curse. It glared up at Misty before grabbing the handkerchief that she had given Ash when they first said goodbye. It used it to cover his mouth, freaking everyone out. But as soon as the small pokemon did so, Ash seemed to calm down instantly before passing out.

"Now I'm really confused," Dawn whimpered, "What just happened?"

"I don't know," Tracy and Brock stated, walking up beside Misty.

"Is that-" Tracy stated when he saw Ash's shoulder blade.

"It is…" Brock gulped.

There on Ash's back was a blood red tattoo. It was an old English styled R with two bleeding roses at its ends. The blood itself seemed to drip down till it reached the small of his back. Let's just say that this wasn't really what the group had been expecting to see when they heard Ash scream.

"We need to get him somewhere out of sight," Brock muttered, gently picking up his friend/little brother.

"Right," everyone nodded, following their breeder friend up to one of the center's room.

* * *

"bright…" Ash whimpered when he finally woke back up.

"So you've rejoined the living," Brock chuckled from his seat next to the bed where Ash laid.

"where-" Ash started to ask.

"My room at a Pokemon Center," Brock answered.

"You scared the crud out of me, Ash," Misty whimpered from her seat next to Brock.

"Everyone else went out to buy supplies," Brock sighed, "You've been out for a good three hours."

"S-sorry," Ash whimpered.

"So what's with the tattoo," Brock said bluntly.

"H-Huh!" Ash gasped.

"After Misty touched you, you screamed and passed out as a tattoo appeared on your back," Brock stated.

"Shit…" Ash cursed.

"Ash!" his two friends gasped.

"I didn't want you guys to find out," Ash nearly cried, "I didn't want anyone to know."

"Know what, Ash?" Misty asked.

"…Remember when I told you about my dad, Mist?" Ash questioned, looking down at the sheets.

"Of course I do," Misty nodded.

"Well, there was a reason that he didn't think of me as his own child," Ash stated, running his hand through his messing hair.

"And that is?" the two pressed.

Ash was silent for a second, as if trying to figure out how to start.

"They will do anything to become powerful," Ash finally said, not really looking at anything, "They do experiments."

"Who does?" Brock asked.

"And those experiments aren't just on pokemon," Ash continued.

"What are you talking about?" Misty questioned, placing her hand on top of Ash's knee.

"Team Rocket," Ash sighed, "They don't just experiment on Pokemon. They try to create the perfect grunts by doing unimaginable things to them."

"Wh-What?" the two stuttered, "Then-"

"I was the only that survived the final testing," Ash admitted, finally looking at his friends, "It was the last time that Team Rocket tried this though…"

"Tried what?" Brock questioned.

"They wanted to make an entire squad of grunts that had pokemon like abilities," Ash stated, staring up at the ceiling, "Part pokemon, if you will."

"And y-you-"

"To do this though, they needed children. Newborns actually," Ash sighed, rubbing his neck, "They stole me from my mother about an hour after I was born. They said that I was just what they needed to perfect their new "drug". So the first five of my years were spent in a laboratory being tested on. Scientists messing with the very DNA that made me up.

"Most can't remember anything before age five but I can. I remember everything from then. It's something from the experiments," Ash continued, clutching his hands, "Pokemon don't have that lapse of memory like humans do. So I remember everything from those years."

"A-Ash…" Misty whimpered.

"There were twenty other kids in that hell with me," Ash stated, eyes glowing with anger, "Each of us were being tested for different types. Well, except me…"

"Except you?"

Ash chuckled darkly, "They said they wanted a leader. But that's a lie. All they wanted was to see how many types they could "equip" us with."

"H-How many?" Brock stuttered.

"Nearly every single one of them. The only three I don't have at least one ability of are steel, poison, and ghost," Ash smirked sadly, "But still, most are sealed away and they'll never become a problem unless I unlock all the seals."

"Seals?" the two repeated.

"After five years, I was the only kid that managed to survive," Ash said, "I don't even know why I clung to life. It was so painful. All I thought about was dieing and being free of the pain. Then one day, there was a huge explosion from one of the side labs. I was in the middle of my daily testing. Well, actually container or whatever. I remembered that I could have been like all the others and actually died before it got this far. That's when it finally ended.

"A ranger appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the lab, saving me. Then he took me somewhere. This is the only spot in my life so far that I can't really remember and I hate it. I hate it so much now…" Ash growled before remembering his friends, "Anyways, he took me far away to some shrine and had almost all of my abilities, except the really harmless ones, sealed away. Then he took me with him until he found my parents. After that, you know the rest.

"The thing is, I know that he had the help of some pokemon but I don't know which one. And I need to know!" Ash shouted.

"Wh-Why?" Brock and Misty gulped.

"Because, the seals are starting to weaken enough for the keys to unlock them," Ash sighed, looking at Misty intently, "That's why I tried to leave. I left for Kanto and tried to track down that old ranger. Then I heard he was here in Sinnoh, I figured I'd follow you guys until I found him."

"What are the keys?" Misty asked.

"You were one of them," Ash sighed looking at her, eyes filled with emotions she never dreamt of, "Love was the first key he used. If I fell in love and the seal weakened, I couldn't have that person touch me until I had the seal redone. Or else that particular seal would completely break."

"Love did that?" Misty asked, before she realized something, "S-So you l-love me!"

"well, duh," Ash chuckled, "How could you never notice it, Ms. I love and know all secrets of Romance?"

"J-Jerk!" Misty snapped, blushing dark.

"What did that seal contain?" Brock asked.

"My abilities with fire, water, and electricity. Due to my aura and just how my personality, the ranger figured that sealing them with love as the key would be the easiest," Ash stated, "Though, it is kind of ironic when I think about it."

"S-So-" Brock started to say.

"No, they won't do anything to change me. It just means I'm more like a pokemon now. It also means that if Team Rocket sees my tattoo then they'll know who and what I am," Ash stated.

"W-Will more tattoos appear if the more seals are broken?" Misty asked.

"Nope. Just that one," Ash stated, getting up, "Can I borrow a shirt, Brock?"

"Yeah," Brock nodded, throwing him a random shirt.

"Thanks," Ash smiled, throwing it over his head, "So now that you know my secret, what are you guys gonna do?"

"Huh?"

"Are you gonna abandon me to search alone and label me as a freak or join me on this new journey?" Ash asked, walking to the door.

"Join you of course!" Misty exclaimed, racing up to the dark haired man, "So what if you were originally an experiment. That doesn't change who you are."

"Thanks Mist," Ash smiled gently.

"Oh and," Misty quickly kissed Ash on his lips before running out of the room, "I love you too, Mr. Pokemon Master."

Ash just gaped out the door for a second before busting out in laughter and chasing down Misty, enjoying an old time wrestling match. Brock just watched as Pikachu jumped in as referee when the rest of their friends came back. Misty was right. Ash was still Ash. But still…Brock couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going to happen to them. Something a lot bigger what they had ever been through before. Perhaps even bigger than Ho-oh.


End file.
